DO WE NEED A ‘GREEN TAX’ ON AIR TRAVEL?

WITH AVIATION GENERATING MUCH OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY’S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, WE LOOK AT WHAT THE INDUSTRY, THE GOVERNMENT AND WE AS CONSUMERS CAN DO TO REDUCE THE DAMAGE TO OUR PLANET. WORDS: JAMES DRAVEN

“If aviation were a country,” says Justin Francis, founder of ethical tour operator, Responsible Travel, “it would be the world’s seventh largest emitter of CO2.”

It’s for this reason Responsible Travel is campaigning for a global tax on our flights, called the Green Flying Duty, with the proceeds ring-fenced for research into carbon-free aviation. Francis says raising fares by 10% will reduce demand for flights by up to 15%, and believes the solution to the climate crisis is for us to travel less often, less far.

Philip Allport, director of communications at Norwegian, disagrees: “Aviation is already one of the most heavily taxed industries in the world and adding an additional tax burden will negatively impact both consumers and the global industries aviation supports.”

Responsible Travel counters this: “Aviation fuel is untaxed. The government charges Air Passenger Duty (APD), but at a much lower level than fuel tax. Airlines would pay £10bn if aviation was taxed at the same rate as petrol. Even with the £3.4bn raised through APD, this makes the subsidy, for a very polluting industry, £6.6bn per year — or £240 for every UK household. We propose increasing APD to a level that would reduce demand for aviation.”

Benjamin Ryan, chief commercial officer of Air North, Yukon’s Airline, points out: “Any policy initiatives that drive up the cost of flights will prohibit those with low incomes from flying.” Global travel would become the preserve of the wealthy again.

“That’s right,” agrees Francis, “it’s a shame, but we have to try to halt the devastation of global warming.”

Responsible Travel hopes those hit hardest by price hikes will swap flights for staycations and rail travel, and those who do still fly will choose to take fewer, longer holidays, thus reducing the number of flights.

Unfortunately this flies in the face of consumer trends according to Thomas Cook’s

2019 Holiday Report, which states customers are increasingly booking shorter trips to long-haul destinations to maximise their annual leave quota.

“This [type of travel] is completely inconsistent with what’s needed,” counters Francis.

We also have to ask if heavy taxes on air travel could drive airlines and tour operators out of business, and negatively impact countless tourist destinations.

“The environment is more important than the success of some businesses,” says Francis. “Tourism can’t survive in a world of water shortages and climate migration. If climate change gets out of control we’d see a 5-20% reduction in global GDP. That would crush the tourism industry.”